What this auto journalist noticed could save lives

The Ram ProMaster recall is thanks to a perceptive journalist.

The reality is that cars and trucks are incredibly safe (when used properly), well-engineered contraptions in the broad scheme of things. This is due to federal regulation and the ever-present threat of lawsuits, which spur automakers to test things to an extreme to prevent buyers from getting hurt, or worse.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

The first sign of the Aston Martin accelerator pedal debacle, where a Chinese subcontractor supplied faulty plastics which allowed the pedal to snap off, was actually during the launch of one of the Rapide variants. It didn't directly spark the recall, but it put the company on notice. No luxury brand wants to confront a journalist holding the remains of an accelerator pedal at the launch of their new vehicle—and no one wants to confront the reality that something more serious could have happened.

On the heels of the announcement that Ram is recalling all ProMaster commercial vans, voluntarily, our colleague Don Sherman at Car and Driver noted that he was the first to notice the problem. During testing at the Chrysler proving grounds, Sherman matted the pedal, which slipped off the pedal stop and wedged itself in a full-throttle position. The good news is that the ProMaster's brakes were up to the task of safely stopping the vehicle, and nothing unfortunate happened.

Sherman replicated the issue successfully on a few different ProMasters during the magazine's testing of the vehicle. Then he called over some Chrysler engineers, who likely cursed lightly in Italian as they examined and verified the problem.

To Chrysler's credit, Sherman reports the fix for the problem, which he was allowed to test a few weeks later, resolved the issue. And thanks to his perceptiveness, it didn't take a consumer accident to bring the issue to their attention.

You should read Sherman's own account of the ProMaster issue at Car and Driver.